Meet The Team
Chad Larson
Hometown: Medford, OR
Year: Junior
Major: Physics and Engineering Physics
Chad Larson graduated as valedictorian from South Medford High. He is now a double major in Physics and Engineering Physics while being a president scholar at Northwest Nazarene University. Last year, Chad was part of the Reduced Gravity team that got accepted into the NASA SEED program. This gave him the chance to fly on the Weightless Wonder. He is thinking about pursuing a career in the Navy as a Nuclear Engineer but has not yet made up his mind. In his spare time, Chad likes to play ping pong and intramural sports with his friends.
Ben Gordon
Hometown: Oakridge, OR
Year: Sophomore
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Ben Gordon graduated from Oakridge High School and is now a Mechanical Engineer at NNU. He currently is part of and likes Men’s and Crusader Choir. He wants to work in the automotive industry. In his free time he thinks, hikes and draws.
Seth Leija
Hometown: Boise, ID
Year: Sophomore
Major: Electrical Engineering
Seth graduated from Borah High School with honor as a W.E.B. scholar for academic excellence and diversity. He currently holds a GPA of 3.811 at Northwest Nazarene University. His goal is to work in the field of embedded systems and creating consumer electronics. When he is not working on homework, he likes to hang out with friends and read. Some of his other hobbies include writing, puppetry, and tinkering with electronics.
David Vinson
Hometown: Elbe, WA
Year: Sophomore
Major: Electrical Engineering
David Vinson has been to many different schools through his younger years. He enjoys many different and varied interests, including tennis, drama, airsoft, frisbee and League of Legends. He plans to obtain his PhD in engineering and probably branch into other areas of study as well. Other interests include theology, history, teaching and psychology.
Drew Johnson
Hometown: Tacoma, WA
Year: Freshman
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Andrew Johnson graduated in the top ten percent of his class from Stadium High School. Currently, he is a Mechanical Engineering major at Northwest Nazarene University. His future career goal is to be a Nuclear Engineer and to design cleaner and safer systems. Outside of the classroom, Andrew can be found riding and designing longboards, and playing sports games around campus with his friends.
Zach Thomas
Hometown: Rochester Washington
Year: Freshman
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Zach Thomas graduated with honors from North West Christian High School. He is from Rochester Washington and is currently pursuing a under graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa Idaho. After graduation he wants to work on designing custom engines for sport racing motorcycles. He participates in activities such as playing on an intermural football team and hanging out with friends. He also enjoys welding, working on cars, and working on his dirt bike.